The Representation of Traveller Students Across Different School Contexts in Ireland
Abstract
Research on Traveller education in Ireland is limited. Internationally, studies on the education of the Traveller, Roma or Gypsy community tend to focus on educational participation and exclusion, discrimination, identity and belonging with little focus on the representation of Traveller student across different types of schools and educational settings. This chapter examines the distribution of Traveller students across mainstream and alternative education settings in Ireland, and how this distribution varies across different types of schools and centres. Using data from the Growing Up in Ireland principal survey and survey data from Irish alternative education providers (The National Youthreach Programme), it explores the concentration of Travellers in mainstream provision, in designated disadvantaged schools (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools [DEIS]) compared to non-DEIS schools, and alternative education in Ireland. Findings show a higher representation of Traveller students in schools designated disadvantaged compared to non-disadvantaged settings and greater numbers of Traveller students in large primary and, to a lesser extent, secondary schools. The findings for alternative education show that Traveller young people make up 15% of learners which is higher than their representation in the general population or the school system. There is marked regional variation with higher representation of Travellers in alternative education settings in the West of Ireland compared to other regions.
With increasing policy emphasis on inclusive education and the need to increase retention of students from Traveller backgrounds, it is perhaps an opportune time to explore the distribution of Traveller students across different school and alternative educational contexts so that educational supports can be targeted more effectively.
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) is funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Diversity, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY). It is managed by DCEDIY in association with the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Results in this chapter are based on analyses of data from Research Microdata Files provided by the CSO. Neither the CSO nor DCEDIY takes any responsibility for the views expressed or the outputs generated from these analyses.
Citation
Smyth, E. and Banks, J. (2024), "The Representation of Traveller Students Across Different School Contexts in Ireland", Rose, R. and Shevlin, M. (Ed.) Including Voices (International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Vol. 23), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 217-229. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-363620240000023017
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2024 Emer Smyth and Joanne Banks. Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited